I'm really enjoying all the great posts. Been thinking and re-reading
Lila too. Almost accidentally, the mix has produced a little thesis:
Phaedrus is the CONTRARIAN and represents the push of Dynamic Quality
all through our history.
I'm not sure if I can say exactly why, but I think this notion is
relevant to several issues discussed here lately. I hope it sheds some
light on the struggle between social and intellecual values too.
We know that name is associated with the Sophists of ancient Greece,
but Phaedrus is also associated with yesterday's contrarians. On page
306 of the hardback Pirsig writes, "Phaedrus remembered parties in the
fifties and sixties full of liberal intellectuals like himself who
actually admired the criminal types that sometimes showed up". I think
its interesting that he describes Phaedrus as a liberal intellectual,
and its even more interesting that he nearly confesses his admiration
for criminal types. Of course that was a long time ago. Pirsig's MOQ
aims to distinguish between the Galileos and the common criminals and
admiration is reserved for the former. But the main idea here is that
Phaedrus is a character who can be located in 500 B.C. Greece and at a
party in the sixties. Somehow this character retains the same voice, the
same views and attitudes. He is always the contrarian. He is DQ, as it
is exhibited in people.
Later (pp.358-9) he explains that he and Lila are both "contrarians".
Other contrarians mentioned include the brujo the Bohemians of the
Victorian Era and the Hippies and then says...
ANYWAY IT SEEMED TO HIM THAT WHEN YOU ADD A CONCEPT OF DQ TO A RATIONAL
UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD, YOU CAN ADD A LOT TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF
CONTRARIANS. SOME OF THEM AREN'T JUST BEING NEGATIVE TOWARD STATIC MORAL
PATTERNS, THEY ARE ACTIVELY PURSUING A DYNAMIC GOAL. ... SOMETIMES IT
DYNAMIC, WHERE YOUR WHOLE BEING SENSES THAT THE STATIC SITUATION IS AN
ENEMY OF LIFE ITSELF. THAT'S WHAT DRIVES THE REALLY CREATIVE PEOPLE -
THE ARTISTS, COMPOSERS, REVOLUTIONARIES AND THE LIKE - THE FEELING THAT
IF THEY DON'T BREAK OUT OF THIS JAILHOUSE SOMEBODY HAS BUILT AROUND
THEM, THEY'RE GOING TO DIE. ... THE DYNAMIC FREEDOM THEY'RE FIGHTING FOR
IS A KIND OF MORALITY TOO. AND ITS A HIGHLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE
OVERALL MORAL PROCESS. ITS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH deGENERACY, BUT IT IS
ACTUALLY A FORM OF MORAL RE-GENERATION.
Maybe this is already obvious to you? It seems to me that these
contrarians are the romantics and classically minded folks tend to be
more static, more conservative and obedient. Contrarians are kinda
swirly and often crooked, burt their enemies are straight, upright and
square. You know what I mean? Contrarians are more likely to see the
dharmakaya light, eh? There is a dark heaviness on the side of the
squares. Contrarians are much more likely to be wrong because they're
much more willing to risk it. Contrarians would wreck everything if it
weren't for the squares.
What kind of shape are you in?
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